Persistence Pays
by SeEmYaWeSoMeNeSs
Summary: Michiru was going to be brave. She was going to march up and demand the purple-haired boy tell her what happened to her friend. No matter how long it took.
1. Coward

i.  
Michiru was going to be brave. She was going to march up and demand the purple-haired boy tell her what happened to her friend.

But the closer she got to him, the more she realized how scary he was.

He was reading a book stoically, glasses reflecting the light and gleaming with an almost rapist-like quality. She paused just a moment and thought about what little she knew about him.

Her courage fled her and she ran to her seat.

ii.  
This time she was going to do it! Even his scary glasses couldn't stop her!

Michiru slammed her hand onto his desk and, with a blush, realized just how loud she was. And how rude it had been of her… And—No! She was going to do this!

He met her eyes, his rather impassive. Though dazed, as if he was still trapped in the book. "Yes?"

She stuttered for a good two minutes before finally "Nothing!" tumbled from her lips and she hastily fled to her seat, trying not to think of how much scarier it was to see his eyes.

iii.  
Reminding herself he had once fixed a stuffed animal of hers (dramatically as well), she inched closer to him at lunch. She could do this.

If Orihime had so much faith in him, she could ask just one little question.

But the closer she got, the more her resolve faded and she stood in front of him for a moment, biting her lip, before sighing and walking off.

iv.  
"Inoue, does Ogawa-san have a crush on Ishida?"

"Hmm? Why do you say that?"

Ichigo didn't have to say anything, motioning towards the brunette, slouched and defeated, walking away from Ishida, disappointment in her eyes and a blush on her cheeks.

Orihime's eyes widened, "I don't…. know."

v.  
Michiru would do this. She would and this time nothing would stop her!

She ambushed him before class, eyes lit in the fire of determination. "Ishida-san!" She cried, blocking him from the door, "I want you to tell me what happened to Orihime while she was away—I know you know so don't tell me you don't."

He looked surprised but before he could answer, she clapped her hands to her mouth in horror and fled. That had been the worst possible way for her to ask! Why was she so rude?

vi.  
She avoided him for days, dodging around and away from him if she thought he was anywhere near.

It wasn't that Michiru no longer wanted to know what happened—It was more of her embarrassment at having been so brash about it prevented her from facing him.

She really was a coward.

vii.  
It seemed, while he didn't seek her out as she had done for the first few weeks, he did try to talk to her multiple times. It just so happened, she had a skill at making herself scarce.

It was, however, a relief that he would be willing to tell her what had happened.

She just… couldn't talk to him about it yet so kept avoiding him.

Michiru knew she needed to grow up but she just couldn't get over how rude she had been—to someone that scared her with his shiny glasses and cold eyes. Not that he was bad, he was just strange in a distant way.

viii.  
"…Orihime-chan?"

Orihime turned to her friend and gave her a warm smile, "Yeah?"

Michiru began to play with her short hair and Orihime continued to stay her most supportive. While she had been a burden for Kurosaki-kun and the others involved with Soul Society and shinigami, she had never been a burden for Michiru and would like to keep it that way.

Her friend blushed deeply and grumbled, "Can I sit with you at lunch today?"

She nodded, "Of course! You don't have to ask."

ix.  
Michiru nervously followed Orihime over to the group of intimidating boys.

When noticing Ishida had put down his book to meet her stare, she blushed, stumbled, and tried to bolt. Orihime's confused expression, however, stopped her and she turned, nervously biting her lip, and sat down by her friend.

Then, in a rush, she said, "I'msosorryforwhatIsaiditwasveryrudeofmeandIshould'vethoughtthroughmywords." Taking a deep breath, she avoided Ishida's eyes and said to Orihime, "I think I'll go back now. Sorry, Orihime-chan, and thanks for letting me come."

x.  
She banged her head against the wall, multiple time, chastising herself for just leaving like that.

Michiru was such a coward.

* * *

**I think I'm going to make this a little two-shot. Maybe even four. It won't be long but I want to give it a try. :3**


	2. Afterlife

xi.  
He had her cornered, glasses shining and eyes cold.

She took a step back, wobbling and almost teetering over the cliff's edge.

"Do you want to know what happened to Orihime?" She nodded, unable to speak, and the violet-haired boy's glasses glowed again, completely hiding his eyes. "She died."

Michiru jumped, muscles spasming like she had fallen, and clutched her pillow to her chest. She really needed to get the whole ordeal over with and just get the answer.

xii.  
The school was eerily quiet that morning, almost as if it knew there would be a change.

One short-haired brunette stood outside the classroom door, eyes flashing with a fire.

She would get that answer.

xiii.  
Careful to silently walk up behind him, she put her stuff on her desk and willed herself to not give up. This was it. If she couldn't do this, she didn't deserve to be Orihime's friend.

"Ishida-san, can you tell me what happened to Orihime-chan?"

Instead of giving a direct answer, he met her eyes and said, in a soft voice, "What do you believe happens after someone dies?"

xiv.  
He refused to tell her until she gave away her beliefs, but really, she didn't know.

Trying to explain this to him that just invoked a small frown.

And so, she sat throughout class with her pencil in her mouth, trying to think of the dead and all the stories in her childhood.

xv.  
She wasn't going to leave without getting her answer that day, so she quickly threw together some beliefs and approached him right before lunch. He patiently waited for her explaination.

"The dead go to Hell if they're really, really bad and to purgatory if they're bad or messed up but not irredeemable. Other souls go to different levels of 'heaven' depending on how good they are and… Yeah…"

His glasses flashed. "Do you know what a Hollow is?"

She blinked, scowled, and then left, trying to think it up, not realizing he hadn't told her she had to.

xvi.  
Michiru hunted him down as he left the school. He paused to let her catch up and turned to see the determination simmering in gray eyes. "I don't know what a Hollow is. Someone who's lost their soul?"

He noticed the shy girl was clenching her fists and he also saw how her bottom lip trembled. She really wanted an answer. "Will you believe what I have to tell you of the afterlife?" Her eyes widened and then she nodded, looking quite ready to accept all he said.

And so, he began to tell her of shinigami and hollows and arrancar and plus souls and quincy.

xvii.  
She hadn't gotten her answer that day but it was only because she needed to absorb what Ishida had said. It was weird but she really wanted to believe him.

She sat on her bed, legs swaying, and just thought.

Michiru could understand the story but how had he been so positive? How come he knew so much?

xviii.  
Cheeks red, she approached him again before class. "Ishida-san, are you one of the things you mentioned yesterday?" He looked up from his book and gave her a guarded look.

She took that as a yes.

But what then?

"I'm not the only one here that is something other than a human." He warned and her eyes widened as she surveyed the classroom. Just then, Kurosaki walked in and met her eyes.

Was he human?

xix.  
She sat down with them at lunch again and warily started a conversation with Ishida about the afterlife, trying to guess what he was. Learning what had happened to Orihime was important but she got the feeling she needed to understand the afterlife before she could understand the events that had transpired without her.

xx.  
She snapped her fingers together and ran after Ishida, eyes glittering. "I know what you are!" She forgot about her fear for the moment and proudly pointed to his cross. "A quincy!"

"Why do you think that?"

Michiru almost doubted herself but then gave him a smile, "You didn't speak too well of the shinigami and you said the shinigami murdered the quincy race—which already is kind of a clue. I _know _you can't be a hollow and… The cross. You mentioned one. Sorry it took so long."

And he gave her a small smile that sent her heart fluttering but, for the first time, it wasn't in fear.

* * *

**Haha, tell me how out-of-character this seems for him. I need to work on him. :3**


	3. And Friends Are Involved

xxi.  
Knowing what he was seemed to lighten him up somewhat.

He seemed less mysterious now and, since she had been told what the quincy did, felt quite safe in his presence. He seemed to take defending the weaker seriously and that meant he'd defend her as well.

She was weak after all.

xxii.  
Michiru learned about all kinds of things after that.

He pushed her to try and figure out whom else wasn't human. When she brought up Ichigo, a look of amusement had her trying to guess what he was. Not quincy. Not hollow… But, could he really be dead? Dead and…

"A shinigami?" He nodded. "Kuchiki-san and Abarai-san are shinigami, too, aren't they?" Another nod.

She sat back down when they came in and stared.

There were death gods _in her class._

xxiii.  
Ichigo shook his head in disbelief. He still couldn't believe Ishida and Ocgawa-san were spending so much time together. He didn't jump to the conclusion they were dating, after all, Ogawa-san seemed more like an eager student than an attentive girlfriend.

It was a rather strange friendship, he though, between the shy girl and stubborn quincy.

Guiltily, he realized he hadn't thought much about Ishida having human friends outside Chad and Inoue.

xxiv.  
"There was a war? And all of us just slept through it?" For the first time since he had begun to tell her about death, she doubted him.

Ishida didn't try to force her to believe him which was the only reason she settled down and thought about it. It was unbelievable but… At the same time not. She had woken up recently feeling like she had slept a very long time.

"Wow… We humans really are ignorant, huh?"

xxv.  
Finally, Ishida got around to telling her what had happened to Orihime.

And Michiru almost couldn't handle it.

Orihime had been though _that much_ and still acted so happy?

Michiru had new respect for her friend.

xxvi.  
"I suppose since you got the information you wanted from me, you'll want to hang out with your friends now?"

She blinked. And then blushed.

She was probably bothering him.

Michiru bit her lip, "I guess I should… But… Can I talk with you some other time?" His eyes widened and, with bright cheeks, she rushed away.

It felt like they were back at square one.

Only this time, it was another feeling that made her stomach clench. And not one entirely unpleasant.

xxvii.  
Ryo watched her friend grow closer with her academic rival and felt the familiar ambition rising. It seemed the violet-haired boy was taking her closest friend from her.

But, to her surprise, after a couple weeks, Michiru returned to her, flustered but still essentially the same.

It took her less than a minute to realize her friend had gotten a crush on Ishida.

xxviii.  
Michiru chatted with Ryo happily, keeping a certain quincy off of her mind, when Chizuru glomped her. She let out a cry and fought off the homosexual but still found herself smiling at her friend's apologies and statement that 'she was just too cute to resist.'

It was all fun and games, really.

Violet eyes met hers and she blushed, forgetting about the apologies and Ryo's recent studying technique.

She turned away and didn't notice her friends had grown quiet.

xxix.  
At lunch she _almost_ walked over to the other group but caught herself and sat down beside Tatsuki. After much talking—and groping from Chizuru, who tried to divide evenly between her and Orihime—Ryo said, "Tell us what happened between you and Ishida."

Cheeks flushed, she asked, "What do you mean?"

Ryo raised an eyebrow and Orihime even gave her a curious look.

Michiru shrunk and said, "Nothing. I just… asked him for help with something."

Nobody was satisfied with that answer.

xxx.  
She caught herself thinking about him in history. Probably because history always made her think of dead people and then that now reminded her of the afterlife and then _that_ reminded her of her conversations with Ishida which, of course, reminded her of Ishida.

Groaning, she let her head meet the desk.

Mahana gave her a pat on the back and a smile, "You know, if you like him, you could probably try talking to him again."

She missed the implication of the word 'like' and beamed, "You're right, thanks, Maha-chan."

Now… How to start a conversation..?

* * *

**And so the plot is lost and friends are involved. :P Input would be nice.**


	4. Against the World

xxxi.  
With a blush, Michiru convinced herself to step over to Ishida's desk. "Good morning." She greeted with a smile—it felt a little more like a grimace, however. He read for a second more, obviously trying to finish the climax of his book, before placing it down and returning her greeting.

After that, an awkward silence settled between them.

"Was there something you wanted to ask?" He finally said, breaking the quiet.

She laughed nervously, "I—"

"Everyone in their seats!" Ochi-sensei's voice made her scatter, quickly flying back into her seat with only an apologetic and desperate glance towards Ishida. He gave her a nod and then turned to the board.

_Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump._

xxxii.  
Ryo rolled her eyes and settled beside her friend. "Michiru, if you keep watching him like that people are going to jump to conclusions." Wide, naïve eyes blinked up at her. Obviously Michiru wasn't going to get the softer warning. "They'll think you're either stalking him or have a crush on them."

The horror in her friend's eyes was, while amusing, somewhat overdramatic, and she pulled out her book. While the truth could be refreshing, she had a feeling Michiru had just been doused in freezing water.

Mahana was the most naïve in the group—sometimes. Othertimes, it was either Michiru or Orihime. And Orihime was losing that role.

xxxiii.  
Michiru wasn't sure if she should avoid Ishida or continue with her mission to talk to him after Ryo revealed why she had been receiving some strange looks.

After all, Ishida… wasn't very popular. Neither with girls nor guys.

The only girls to actually seem to be close to him were Orihime and Kuchiki.

She stopped for a moment to think about this and realized that he seemed closest to Orihime.

Maybe Orihime could help her talk to him!

xxxiv.  
Michiru gave her orange-haired friend a warm smile, "Orihime-chan?"

The kind girl turned and smiled back, "Yes?"

"I was wondering if you could tell me some things about Ishida-san."

xxxv.  
Thinking back on the conversation with her friend, she realized it had been rather enlightening. Well, not really. She hadn't told Orihime she knew about the afterlife and it seemed her friend had struggled a good while with how to explain their friendship.

So their friendship was because of the dead?

She looked over at Kurosaki.

Should she..?

xxxvi.  
"Kurosaki-san," she began, shifting nervously. He turned to give her a curious look and she almost dashed away.

No.

This was not allowed to happen again.

She straightened her back and said, "I know what you are."

His surprise almost made her feel like crawling into a hole. Almost. She always chose the worst things to say.

xxxvii.  
After Kurosaki relaxed enough to ask her what she meant, she bit her lip and calmly said, "A shinigami."

"That's ridiculous, they're dead."

"I know." Michiru avoided eye contact, "But it explains why Kuchiki-chan and you always vanish. You're both shinigami."

He couldn't really deny that.

xxxviii.  
Michiru had failed at asking Kurosaki with help for Ishida, if only to keep the bespectacled boy out of trouble with Kurosaki.

Morosely, she wandered away from the shinigami and, because she hadn't been paying attention, ran into a person. She fell to the ground and laughed nervously, looking up to see who she had bumped into and promptly turned an even darker shade of red.

Ishida.

"Sorry, Ishida-san!" She managed to gasp out after many failed, stuttering attempts.

"You seemed to have something on your mind." She took that as a 'it's okay' and nodded, trying not to die on the spot. Suddenly, she realized she had her opening and jumped up, beaming, "I have a question fo—"

A scream echoed down the hall and she turned to see a girl being cornered.

The world really was trying to go against her now.

xxxix.  
No longer amused by her mess ups (not that she had been amused in the first place), she made her way over to Ryo with a frown on her face.

Noticing this, she said, "Ishida?"

Michiru blinked in surprise, "How did you know?"

Her friend only let out an exasperated sigh.

xl.  
How to start a conversation with him now?

She chewed on her pencil and, unknowingly, her unfocused gaze moved to Ishida.

How to start a conversation?

She wanted to do it without mentioning the afterlife but she was coming up blank—Ishida turned a page in his book and she suddenly got an idea. A grin flew across her lips and she anxiously waited for class to end.

She knew just what to say!

* * *

**Well, I'm not sure how a girl with a crush feels since I have yet to have one... Am I writing it right? I'd like to have a little feedback on how I'm doing with the characters and emotions, please. ^-^**


	5. Everyone Else

xli.  
She found it easier to think her question than actually ask it. She picked at her shirt for a minute before finally asking, "Is the book good?"

He looked up at her, blinking out a daze. Then, he nodded.

She beamed, feeling a blush rise to her cheeks. "What's it about?"

And though she didn't really listen to all he said, the sound of his voice made her relax and she sat down in the seat beside him. After a while, he paused to push up his glasses and eyed her. "I'm boring you, aren't I?"

She shook her head, eager to keep him talking. "Not at all."

xlii.  
A little more time passed and, finally, people were getting ready for summer.

She noticed nobody crowded over to Ishida to talk about their summer plans and bit her lip, debating. What would others think if she..? Oh, to Hell with it. She marched over to him and gave him a shy smile, "Do you have anything big for summer?"

Ishida shook his head, paused, and then nodded. "I am going to try and visit Soul Society once more."

Michiru blinked, "But don't you have to die to get there?"

He smirked. "Not necessarily."

And she began to listen to another story.

xliii.  
"He's having fun, isn't he?" Ichigo grumbled, watching the quincy telling the wide-eyed girl something that had to be dramatic and about himself. Or something. Then again, Ishida just liked talking to those who listened.

Chad, always a man of wisdom, simply replied, "She is, too."

And that was it.

Ogawa _was_ enjoying whatever Ishida had to say from what he could see. Her eyes were glittering and her smile was all there and bright. It was still just a little strange to him.

xliv.  
Michiru sat by him on the last day of school—even Ochi-sensei was letting them mingle.

"Do you think I could go to Soul Society?"

She looked over and blushed at his expression. "All plus souls go to Soul Society. You don't seem like the type of girl to go to Hell and, though it can't be guaranteed, you don't seem the type to become a hollow."

"I meant… before I died."

He shook his head, "Probably not. You don't have a strong enough raitsu to make it without dying."

xlv.  
This was it.

She wouldn't see him again for a while.

Michiru bit her lip and softly mumbled a, "See you next school year, Ishida-san."

xlvi.  
The first few days of summer, she caught herself thinking about Ishida.

A couple times, to her mortification, she was blushing.

So, she began to spend more time with her friends and less time home alone. Or near books. Or around anything that reminded her of him because when she thought to much about him, she blushed and she didn't really understand why but it was embarrassing.

xlvii.  
She wondered if he got to go to Soul Society.

Sitting alone of her bed, she also thought about Orihime. She had disappeared again for a couple days but Tatsuki wasn't going into a panic so she was probably safe.

Was she at Soul Society?

…With Ishida?

That made her feel guiltily annoyed so she changed the subject in her mind, focusing on how pretty the night could be.

xlviii.  
Ryo sighed, her friend was out-of-it again. "Does he have a phone number?"

That snapped the brunette out of it and she blushed. "Who?"

Crossing her arms, Ryo replied, "Ishida."

Michiru gave her an almost hopeful look and then shook her head. "I don't know."

Her friend needed to work on getting what she wanted.

Then again, she didn't even know.

xlix.  
Michiru let her feet lead her to… no where. Just the park.

She smiled and walked over to a familiar tree, letting everything else drift off.

Until her mind wandered to Ishida.

Annoyed with herself, she changed direction. She felt like some kind of obsessive stalker! In a huff, she didn't realize she had left her bag.

l.  
"You need to be more careful." Mahana said brightly, handing her the purse. "I found it at the park, good thing I recognized it! What were you thinking about?"

Michiru blinked and then beamed, "Thanks, Maha-chan!"

"No problem. Was it Ishida?"

She stiffened and tried to hold back her blush. "What?"

"Was it Ishida? That you were thinking about?"

Why did everyone seem to know more than her?

* * *

**. I'd kind of like some reviews. At least three before posting the next chapter, if that isn't too much to ask. I want to see what ya'll think of the fic.**


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